Book Review: When the White Smoke Clears
And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18)
Where were you on May 8?
I was working at home, as per usual, and my husband was out running errands. He texted “White Smoke!” My first thought was “Already?” as I jumped to turn on the news. As the crowds thronged, the Cardinal stepped onto the balcony and made his announcement. I caught the word “Prevost.”
“Oh, my goodness! It’s the American!”
In the days following, I joined many of you in Googling Pope Leo XIV, conclaves, Robert Prevost and St. Augustine. Meanwhile, Ascension Press kicked its publishing machine into a new gear and announced When the White Smoke Clears: A Guide to Pope Leo XIV’s Early Days.
Ignite Your Curiosity
This collection of essays from well-known Ascension contributors will not only quench your thirst for the basic facts about our new Holy Father, but it will also ignite your curiosity about him and our church.
Contributors include well known voices like Fr. Mike Schmitz and Jeff Cavins as well as “Dr. Italy” Marcellino D’Ambrosio, Dr. Edward Sri and Fr. Josh Johnson. Voices that were new to me included Katie Prejean McGrady and Ashley and John Noronha.
In addition to three first-hand accounts of the appearance of white smoke, the essays address different aspects of the papacy and Pope Leo’s personal history:
The Ascension Team put together a complete history of Cardinal Prevost
Dr. Ambrosio describes the Biblical foundations of the papacy
Dr. Michael Dauphinais educates us on the legacy of Pope Leo XIII
The Noronhas provide perspective on the Augustians
Don’t Catch Leo Fever From the Wrong Source
As a recovering newspaper reporter, my favorite chapter was McGrady’s. As a commentator for CNN, she not only witnessed the announcement first hand, she saw how her fellow journalists reacted to it. Filling the 24-hour news cycle led to “Leo Fever” and PLENTY of speculation.
McGrady advises us to avoid falling in love with the media-created version of Pope Leo XIV. “Our challenge is to let Pope Leo show us who he is, not to let the media craft a narrative to tell us who he is,” she wrote.
Instead, she urges us to use the Vatican website to go straight to the source by reading and watching the Pope’s exact words. That’s what the writers in this collection did – despite not having much to work with. The sources available included:
the Pope’s initial comments to the crowd in St. Peter’s Square on May 8.
his first homily on May 9.
the homily at his inaugural Mass on May 18.
addresses to the media and diplomatic corps later in May.
The slim, easy to read volume also includes a companion for praying for and with the Holy Father and a glossary of papal terms.
As we all seek to learn about our new Holy Father and witness the making of his legacy first hand, When the White Smoke Clears is a great place to begin to know him better. It accomplishes what Ascension intended: to provide “spiritual wisdom for how Catholics can receive, understand and support our new Holy Father.”
Sharon Bengel is a cradle Catholic with more than 30 years of experience in writing, communications and publication design. A recovering newspaper reporter with a crush on the prophet Jeremiah, Sharon loves discovering new things about the scriptures. She runs an LLC out of her home office in southwest Ohio where she keeps a stash of chocolate for her grandkids.